Road-working machine



Nov. 6, 1928.

E. A. WHEELER ROAD WORKING MACHINE Filed Dec. 10, 1925 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Nov. 6, 1928.

E. A. WHEELER ROAD WORKING MACHINE 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 10, 1925 I v 31:1me14l0t Nov. 6, 1928. 1,690,263

E. A. WHEELER ROAD WORKING MACHINE Filed Dec. 10, 1925 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Ill 5 F lnuqmlot W I g lwa mmwa I Patented Nov. 6, 1928.

1 UNITED STATES PATENT" OFFICE.

EARL A. WHEELER, or LOS ANGELES, oAmroRmA, ASSIGNOR 'ro srAnnAnn Roan MAINTENANCE COMPANY, OF LOS ANGELES,

NEVADA.

CALIFORNIA, A CORPORATION-OE noAn-wonxme MACHINE.

" Application filed December 10, 1925. Serial No. 74,450.

This invention relates to road working machines and more particularly to amachine forremoving surface irregularities from the surface of paved roads or highways or'for b removing the surface covering of asphalt or the like from the concrete base preparatory to the laying of a new surface covering of asphalt or like material. l i

The machine disclosed in this application 19 is an improvement over that road working tial that a machine beprovided that is adapted to operate with precision and mustbe adapted for a very close control ofthe cutting, grading or surfacing operation of the tools employed. This is-particularly necessary as it often occurs that the bondbetween the asphalt covering and the baseof the highway or road is not perfect'at all points and inmany [cases is loose so that :itisnecesary to surface the same with extreme care so as to prevent the breaking of the loose bond which holds the surface covering to the base. As this machine is constructed for the eliminating of ruts and bumps on highways, it is essential that the machine operate in such a manner as to eliminate only these bumps, ruts and the like and so that the toolsemployed do not and cannot gouge into the surface covering to make depressions 1n the highway and so that the cutting tools, graders or the like employed may be accurately set to correspond with the crown of the road or highway which it is desired to surface.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a machine for surfacing or grading highways for eliminating ruts, bumps and the like, which machine is adjustable to anextremely fine point of precision so as to enable the cutting tools carried by the machine to be adjusted to the exact crown of the road and so that the tools will be positively held at the adjustment provided in order that I the same will act uniformly to surface or grade the road without danger of the tools cutting into the surfaceto remove large portions of the surface highway and which machine carriesa plurality of tools adjustable in such a manner so as to enable the truing of thesurface without danger of the tools oper-, ating to break the bond between the surface covering of the road and the base.

Another object of this invention is to providea machineof such a character that the same may be employed for'removingithe surface covering of asphalt or the like froni the base, such as concrete, when it is desired to resurface the road due to imperfect application of the surface covering or due to wear on the surface covering which has made it advisable to remove the surface covering and re;

place the same.

--Other objects and advantages of this in-bvention will be apparent from the following deta1led description of a prefererd embodimentthereof as illustrated in the accompany- I ing drawings, in which drawings:

Figure 1 is a top plan view of a road working-machine embodying this invention. F igure"? is a sideelevation thereof.

' Figure 3 is a rear end elevation thereof.

Figure 4 is a sectional end elevation taken substantially on the'line 44'of Figure 1, illustrating the manner ofmountingthe scraper so as to permit accurate adjustment of the cutting surface thereof.

Figure 5 is a sectional side elevation taken substantiallyon the line 55 of Figure 4.

Figure 6 is a sectional en'delevation, taken substantially on the line 6-6 of Figure 1.,

Figure 7 is a sectional side elevation taken substantially on theline 77 of Figure 1.

Figure 8 is a fragmental top plan View on an enlarged scale illustrating the manner of mounting and assembling the individual scarifying bars and illustrating'the control and support bar as broken away.

Figure 9 is a perspective-view of scarifying gripping members embodying this invention.

In the preferred embodiment of this invention shown in the drawings A illustrates the main frame of the machine, 1n which frame a scraper unit B, a scarifying unlt C tudinally extending channelirons 2 'Whicli' eitend throughout the length of the machine and provide the main frame members for the vehicle. Secured to the lower transverse extensions 3 of the said channel irons 2 by any suitable manner, such as bolts, rivets or the like. are running shoes 1 which running shoes are provided for sliding over the raised surfaces of the road or the like when the frame is adjusted in position so that on encountering irregularities in the road, the shoes 1 engage the roath thus providing a sled which prevents the lowerin of the working tools into the road surface when any particular wheel 01' roller of the units E or l encounters a consideral'ile depression in the road surface. The channel irons 2 are held in spaced relation by means of the transverse frame members G, 7, 8 and 9 and are spaced throughout the length or extension of the said channel irons 2. The transverse frame member 6 provides a platform and is of sutlicient width to permit the standing thereon of an individual to permit regulation during the travel of said machine of the rear frame unit F as will hereiiiattzer be de- .--:cribcd. The frame members 7 andv 8 are secured to a tool box 11 and are of U-shape so as to permit the upper surface of the tool box 11 to provide a suitable platform upon which an individual or individuals may stand for manipulation and regulation of the units C and D, respectively. The transverse frame member 9 provides merely a brace at the rear end of the frame A.

The scari't'yine unit comprises a heavy steel block 1:2 which may be cut out as illustrated at 13 so as to regulate the weight thereof. Plates i l; are secured to the upper and lower ends of the block 12. The upper and lower plates lat are provided with a series of recesses 15 at their opposite edges which extend over and beyond the ed ge faces of the block 12. The recesses 15 in the upper and lower plates 11 on one side of the block 15 are formed in verti'al alignment and are spaced equally throughout the length of the plates 1 The recesses 15 formed on the opposite edges of the upper and lower plates 14; are formed instaggered relation to the recesses formed on the opposite side and are also in vertical alignment so as to support bar scaritying members 16 in stagaered rela tion on opposite sides of the block 12.

The bar scarifiers 16 are preterablv ot the follmving (.tmstruction:

Each bar 16 comprises a shank 16 which is approximately square in cross-section and tits within the vertically aligned recesses 15 formed in the upper and lower plates 1-1. At the lower end of the shank 16 the srt-arityin z members are bent to an angle of about 45 from the vertical and are flattened out to provide chisel edges 16. 1

Means are provided for adjustablv mounting the scarifying members 16 and for rigidl v maintaining the same in the adjusted position. These means comprise locking bars 17 which are secured-in position by means of bolts 18 which pass through the block 12 and between the spaces provided between the spaced recesses 1.5 of the plates 1-1, the heads 19 of the bolts being countersunk in thel'ace of the block 12. In this manner the bolts 18 are staggered throughout the length of the block 1'2 and the alternate bolt: 18 are countersunk in the, opposite faces of the block 12 so as not to interfere with the positioning of the St it'ying lllGll'llJPlE; 16. The chisel edgr s 16 of the scaril'ving members it: are all adjusted to a uniform position or level and are then locked in the adjusted position. In order to accomplish this adjustment, a board is placed in a level position on theground or cheewhere and the scaril' 'ing nicn'ibera 16 placed within their respective rewsses 1-1 and rested upon the surface of the. board. The gripping members '30 are then inserted behind the bars 17 in engagement with the shanks 16'' of the scari o members .1 (l. The gripping members have teeth 21 formed on their inner surface so as to bite into the sur tare of the shank 16 to prevent the dislodgment of the scaril'yin; members 16 from the adjusted position. The gripping members 20 are composed of a bar of steel or like material tapered through their length and provided on one face with gripping teeth 21 and on the opposite face with a projertion which provides a stop and is engaged against the upper edge 23 of the bar 17 to prevent their dropping out when the locking bars 17 are released to adjust the said gripping memhers. 'l'he gripping members 20 are driven into position from their under edges when the scarilier members 16 have been adjusted and their taper prevents their vertical dis placement.

The provision o l the gripping members 20 an important part of my invention in that it provides a gripping means which prevents the mov a of the scariiving members I6 or the chisel edges 1U" thereof from the adjusted position and insures that the zcarii'rius: unit C will pre ent a uniformv cutting edge throughout. is length which will evenly and uniformly cut or carilv the surface of the road to the required depth and that when any particular scaritj'ing members to en ounters a rock or other projta'tion on the surface of the road that the same will cut oil this projection and will not be forced from the alljusted position. thereby assuring me of an even "at or grading ot the surface oi the road or hie'lnvay and likewise insuring me that one scari't'ying; member 16 will not be at a level below the others to form a ridge or groove in the surface of the road or highway. In securing the scarilf -ing members 16 in position. the samv are first placed in their respective re'esses 15 and the gripping members .20 are positioned in place. The bolts are Flt tlu

i i with a sledge or the like from the under end then tightened until a firm'grip is hadbetween the gripping members and the shank 16? of the scarifying -members 16. The lower bolts 18 in'the lower end of the block 12 areithen tightened to prevent vibration of thescar-ifying members 16 at their lower ends. The gripping members aretl'iendriven up against their taper so that the same scarifier members are wedged in position.

The block 12 is atitsrespective ends provided with bores 23 to which screws 24 project. Recesses" 25 are provided approximately intermediate the bores 23 in the blocks 12 and threaded blocks 26 are inserted within and maintained in these recesses 25. The screws '24 are screw-threaded through the blocks 26 and are journaled onend-thrust bearings 27 mounted upon transversely extending U-shaped frame members 28. -Col- .lars 29 are rigidly secured to the screws 24,

being provided to prevent 1lEtl'/l"0lOng1t11- dinal movement of'the screws 24 through the frame members 28. The frame members 28 are twisted at right angles at 30 andextend downward and are rigidly secured to the channel irons 2 of the frame A by means of bolts 31. Brace members 32 are provided which are rigidly securedto the downward extension of the frame members 28 at 33 and to the channel irons 2 of the frame A. Hand wheels 34 are provided-for adjusting the height or position of the chiselpoints 16"? and rear, respectively, of the block 12 on each side of the frame A and engage the sides of of each of the members 35 and 36 being so as to absorb a greater strain than the sections 38, the strain position 37 of each of the guide members 35 and 36 being positions so as to compensate for the position of the strain imparted to the scarifying'members 16. 1 That is, the position 37 of the guide member 35 is at the upper end of the block 12 while the position 37 of the guide member 36 is at the lower end of the block 12. 7 By this process, the torsional strain imparted to the guide members 35 and 36 is adequately compensated for.

In order to permit adjustment of theoppositeends of the block 12 to different levels so as to accurately align the chisel edges 16 wheels 34 permitting the block 12 to be incl'ined so as to'cornpensate for the crown or incline of the surface of the road or high-' way. The units Dare disc carrying units and F. The units D are employed principally when it is desired to remove the surface of the roadway from the base thereof and are for 'th'epiu'pse of breaking upfthesurface after and before the same is" removed from the base by breaking the bond of the base from the surface. The forward unit D is employed for producing longitudinally extending openings'in the surface of the road which is'then loosened from-the baseby the scarifying unit C'a'nd the looseneds'urface is then pulverized by the rear unit D and the remaining traces of the surface are scraped from the base by the unit B. The provision of the two units D enables me to very efiicientlyand completely remove the surface from the base of a road or highway when it is desired to re-surface the same with asphalt or the like.

The units D may also be employed when it isdesired to make aheavy cut in the surface;

of the roadway without removing the surface. Thisi'sf done by adjusting thersame so that only a slight cut is made inthe surface which i-sthen loosened by the scarifying unit C, the second unit 1) acting to pulverize the portion of the surface removed by the'unit C and the unit B-acting to scrape the surface to a level or smooth condition, removingthe material that has been cut andpulverized by the units C and D. r The unit B or thescraping unit, is preferably of the following construction and comprises a blade 43'which is mounted between the channel irons2 and is provided with a scrapingedge 44. V

The blade 43 is secured to a plate 45 by means of bolts 46 spaced. throughout its length. Bores 47 are formed in the block 45 at spaced points. Threaded blocks 48 are mounted in recesses 49 formed in the block 45 and screws 50 passing to the bores 47 are screw threaded through the blocks 48 for raising or lowering the scraper blade 43. The.

screws 50 at their upper ends pass through a transversely extending and angled bar 51 and are maintained against vertical movement through the bar 51 by meanof collars 5 2 and end-thrust bearings 53. The screws at their upper ends are provided with wheels 54 for rotating the screws 5O to adjust the height and position of the scraper blade 43.

Thrust guide bars 56, similar to the thrust guide-bars 35 and 36, are -provided for guiding the scraper blade iii-during its vertical movement. The scraper blade assembly, like the scaritier assembly, being of slightly less width than the distance between theeyebeams 2 so as to permit of angular adjustment'of the scraper blade tocorrespond to the crown and incline of the surface of theroadway or highway upon which the machine is being operated. Braces 57 are provided for bracing the transverse bar 51 which is secured to the upper porti ono-f the channel irons 2,

The rear roller unit E is preferably of the following construction The shaft 58 is fixed at its ends in a U-shzrpcd frame all and is secured at or near the center by means of a supplementary U-shaped bracket 60 to the frame ll as illustrated in Figure 3. Guide-bars 61 are secured to the CllflIlHOldlOIlS 2 in the opposite sides of the U-shaped frame member 41 to prevent longitudinal movement of the U-shaped ttrame l1 and so as to guide the U-shaped frame during verticaladjustment. Broad-faced rollers 62 are journaled on the shaft 58 near the respective channel irons 2 and provide, in addition to means for supporting the machine, crushing rollers which crush and reduce to a fine state of subdivision the portions of the material scraped from the surface of the highway.

In order to permit and obtain a vertical adjustment of the rollers (32 so as to regulate the position of the channel irons 2 in respect to the surfaceo-f the road or highway and so as to inclinethe frame ofthe machine so that the same will correspond to the crown or incline of the road surface, I provide the following preferred means which comprise spaced screws (33, which are screw-threaded into blocks (ll. The blocks 6% are secured by means of bolts (35 to the U-shaped frame 41 and the screws 63 extend through bores formed in the upper section of the Ushaped frame 41. A U-shaped adjusting means supporting frame 65" is secured to the spaced guidebars 61 at its upper end as illustrated at 66. The screw 63 is provided with collars (57 and end-thrust bearings (38 which prevent vertical movement of the screws 63 relative to the frame (55. Island-adjusted wheels 69 are provided for actuating the screws 63 to raise or lower the w'heelstlZ. As in the case of the units 13 and G, the U-shaped frame 41 is of less width than the distance between the .channel irons 2 so as to permit either of the screws ('33 to be adjusted so as to incline the shaft to correspond with the incline or crown of the roadway over which the machine is heingoperated.

in order to prevent the n'i'aterial, such as asphalt. which is scraped from the highway or road from adhering to the broad-faced roller 62, {provide a tank 70 which is mounted upon the frame 65*, and which tank T0 is connected through conduits 71 to drip nozzles 72 which extend over the surface of the rollers 62 sothat the water from the tank 70 drips upon the surface of the roller (32 to maintain the same wet or moist so as to prevent adhe sion of the asphalt to thesurfacc of said rollers. Each ofthe conduits 71 ispro'vided with a valve 73 for regulation of the flow of water or other liquid.

The for ard roller unit F is similar to the rear unit E except that the rollers (32 of the gear unit E are replaced in the forward unit by means of caster rollers 7 1- which are sup ported in caster-forks 7-5 which are secured at pins 76 to the U-shaped frame member corresponding to the U-shaped frame member 41 of the unit E but not illustrated. The matter of adjustment of the height and position of the caster 7-l relative to the surface of the roadway is entirely similar to that provided for the rear roller unit E.

Ha-vin 1 fully described a preferred embodiment of this invention, it is to be understood that I do not wish to be limited to the exact details of construction herein set forth, which may obviously be varied without departing from the spirit of my invention as set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. The combination with a road working tool of a searifying unit comprising a rectangular block, top and bottom plates being secured to and projectingat their sides over thcside of the said block and having recesses formed therein, the recesses of the lower plate being vertically aligned with the recesses in the upper plate, bar scarifier members mounted in the said recesses, and means for bold ing the bar scarifier members within the said recesses.

33. The combination with a road winking tool of a scarifier unit comprising a rectangular block, top and bottom plates secured to and projecting at their sides over the sides of the block, each of said plates having; a plurality of recesses formed therein, the recesses of the upper and lower plates on the same side of the block being vertically aligned and the recesses in the said plates on the op posite side of the said block being formed in staggered relation, bar scarifier members mounted in the said recesses, means for holding the bar scarifier members within the said recesses, and gripping means for holding the bar scarifier members from vertical displacement.

3. The combination with a road working machine of a scarifying unit comprising a block formed of heavy steel andhaving upper and lower plates secured into and extending over the sides thereof, vertically aligned re cesses formed in the overlapping edges of the said plates. scarifier bars mounted in the said recesses, locking bars secured in posi- Hill tion relative to the said block by means of bolts extendin through the said blocks, and

gri ping members mounted between the said 100 ing bars and the said scarifier members.

A. The combination With a roadworking machine of a scarifier unit comprising a block having upper and lower plates secured thereto, the said plates having sides which extend be 0nd the sides of the said block, '10

the exten ing sides having verticallylaligned slots into which bar scarifier members are it adaptedto be ositioned and held.

5. The com ination with a road Working tool of ascarifying unitcomprising a block having upper and lower plates secured theretool of a block, upper and lower plates se-' 7 cured to the said block, the said plates having sides which extend beyond the said block 7 on both sides thereof, vertically aligned slots formed in the said plates on the opposite sides thereof in staggered relation, bar scarifier members mounted in the said vertically extending slots in staggered relation, locking bars, and means extending through the said block in staggered relation formaintaining the said locking bars in position in engagement with the bar scarifier members to main tain the same within the said recesses.

7 The combinatlon wlth a road Working machine of a scarify ng unit comprislng a block, a plurality of bar scarifier members, a

plurality of tapered gripping members, a

locking bar extending across the said block and adjustably secured to the said block, the

said gripping members being interposed between the locking bar and the scarifier member and being driven into position with their smaller ends ahead, and means for holdingthe said gripping members from dropping from position when the said locking bar is released.

Signed at Los Angeles, California, this 4 7 day of December 1925. y

EARL A. WHEELER. 

